Ferne McCann backs Stagecoach

• This Morning presenter training as a bus driver at Stagecoach London
• Star keeping millions of social media followers updated throughout her latest challenge

TV personality Ferne McCann is backing bus company Stagecoach’s drive to encourage more women to consider a career in the bus industry.

The star – currently a presenter on This Morning – is training with Stagecoach to become a qualified bus driver.

Ferne, who has appeared on The Only Way is Essex and I’m A Celebrity....Get Me Out Of Here, is undertaking training for her PCV (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) licence which is required by all serving bus drivers.

The qualification requires trainees to undertake a medical, pass a theory test, complete around 30 hours of on-the-road training and pass a final examination carried out by an independent examiner.

The TV star’s training is being carried out by Stagecoach London driving instructor Yvonne Wallin at the company’s West Ham depot in London.

Ferne’s lessons got underway during National Careers Week and the start of her training also coincided with International Women’s Day, which celebrated the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women.

Ferne – one of the country’s best known female reality stars – is sharing her driver training experience with her millions of social media followers through Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

Ferne McCann said: “I experienced a lot of new challenges in the jungle and loved every minute of it. This is a chance for me to take on a new challenge and do something I would never have thought I’d have the chance to do....learning how to drive a bus!

“I’m so excited about doing this training. It’s a job that traditionally people think of as being for men but there’s no reason that should be the case these days. Hopefully I can help show bus driving as a career option for some women who might never have even considered it in the past.”

Stagecoach Director Clare Kavanagh added: “We have a lot of fantastic female drivers, and other staff, across the UK but the bus industry as a whole still employs significantly more men than women. Many of the reasons for that are historic but times have changed and we want to make women more aware of what a career at Stagecoach can offer them.

“More than 250,000 jobs are supported, directly and indirectly, through the UK bus industry so there are many opportunities out there for both men and women to have a successful and rewarding career in the transport sector.”

“We hope Ferne’s involvement will help shine a light on the bus industry as a potential job opportunity for women across the UK and we wish her all the best with her training.”

Further information on careers with Stagecoach UK Bus visit https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/careers